Following a German pattern, Dutch exports surge outside the Eurozone

Dutch exports have surged by an impressive 10% (€43.5bn) to a total value of €469bn in 2017, the Dutch Statistical Service (CBS) reported on Friday.

The surge was driven by exports in emerging economies, outside the EU, which grew by 16%. That is not a pattern unique to the Netherlands. The share of German exports to the Eurozone in 2004 was 42%, declining to 37% in 2016; Germany is the biggest economy in the Eurozone and boasts the biggest trade surplus in the world.

By contrast, exports to EU member states grew by 8%. Dutch exports to non-EU countries now represent 29% of total exports, compared to just under 24% in 2008.

In 2017, Dutch export growth was driven by exports to Russia by 29% and in South Korea by 53%. Exports to China, Mexico, Israel, Saudi Arabia, Malaysia, India and Turkey in excess of 20%.